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Born in Pakistan, Neha Chaudhry has won nearly £100,000 of investment to develop her pioneering walking stick for people with Parkinson’s, which helps prevent a common symptom known as ‘freezing’ of gait – the sudden inability to walk. She has been in the UK since 2010 and began working on the device while studying for her degree in product design technology. Her invention, Walk to Beat, uses sensors, which detect when a patient freezes and send rhythmic vibrations through its handle, to encourage smooth walking gait.

I’m now getting back on track and moving towards bringing the product to people with Parkinson’s

Neha Chaudhry

Perspectives

Author: Almaz OhenePublished: 21 June 2017

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The UK Home Office has now granted Neha Chaudhry – the award-winning inventor behind the ‘Walk to Beat’ vibrating Parkinson’s walking stick – a visa after overturning a ruling that gave her 14 days to leave the country

Neha Chaudhry, director of the tech company Walk to Beat and inventor of a vibrating Parkinson’s walking stick, will be allowed to stay in the UK after the Home Office overturned an initial decision rejecting her application for a visa.

Neha was told last month that she must either leave the country or file an appeal – after she mistakenly sent the wrong version of a single document in a 66-page form in her application for a three-year entrepreneur’s visa.

In a previous interview, while still waiting to hear if she’d be allowed to stay in the UK to continue her vital work, Neha told Parkinson’s Life: “It was very upsetting. The thing that hit me when I first received the rejection letter on 10 May was, ‘what do I say to all the Parkinson’s patients I have promised this product to?’.”

On 12 June, Neha received another letter from the Home Office – this time over-turning the original visa rejection. The letter said that they had withdrawn the original decision because they’d found an error made by the decision maker.

Neha gained support from the wider Parkinson’s community including the many members of the Parkinson’s UK Bristol and District Branch, where around six members test her prototype on a regular basis.

“When we freeze, we really need something to get us moving again and Neha’s walking stick could be it”

Tom Phipps, who lives with Parkinson’s and is the chair of the Parkinson’s UK Bristol and District Branch, said: “We are heavily involved in her project, it was almost railroaded so we mobilised to support her. I helped Neha contact the local MP for Bristol South, Karin Smyth.

“We’re so pleased that we can get the research back on track. When we freeze, we really need something to get us moving again and Neha’s walking stick could be it.”

Neha Chaudhry’s new Parkinson’s walking stick prototype

Andy Sinclair, director at Sysemia, the technology company that made a substantial investment in Walk to Beat, said: “It’s really important that the Home Office and wider society appreciate the positive contributions to society that people like Neha, who have emigrated to the UK from abroad, bring. Our reason for backing Walk to Beat is that it’s such a great use of technology to fundamentally improve people’s lives. Everyone involved is really looking forward to finally being able to move things forward.”

Neha has already won several awards for her invention, and has now also been shortlisted for two different prizes at the annual digital and technology awards the ‘SPARKies’.

Neha said: “I’m now getting back on track and moving towards finishing the developmental work and clinical trials to bring the product to people with Parkinson’s. I’m overwhelmed with the support and concern people have shown in this matter.

“I want to thank all of them from the bottom of my heart for sending me emails, messages and putting up the effort. It kept me going, as it meant I didn’t feel alone.

“Even though the whole process has caused stress and cost time and money, I still appreciate that the Home Office re-considered my case and granted the visa without further enquiries.”

A Home Office spokesperson said: “Neha Chaudhry’s application has been reviewed and a decision was taken to grant her a visa. She has been made aware of this development.”

Share this story

Born in Pakistan, Neha Chaudhry has won nearly £100,000 of investment to develop her pioneering walking stick for people with Parkinson’s, which helps prevent a common symptom known as ‘freezing’ of gait – the sudden inability to walk. She has been in the UK since 2010 and began working on the device while studying for her degree in product design technology. Her invention, Walk to Beat, uses sensors, which detect when a patient freezes and send rhythmic vibrations through its handle, to encourage smooth walking gait.

I’m now getting back on track and moving towards bringing the product to people with Parkinson’s

IN THE NEWS

Carefully selected news stories from the international Parkinson's community.

3 weeks ago

Excess calcium in brain could cause Parkinson’s

Researchers at the University of Cambridge, UK, have discovered that excess levels of calcium in brain cells may lead to the formation of the toxic clusters that signify Parkinson’s disease. The findings, reported in the journal ‘Nature Communications’, show that calcium can influence the interaction between small membranous structures inside nerve endings, which are important for neuronal signaling in the brain, and alpha-synuclein – the protein associated with Parkinson’s disease. Dr Janin Lautenschläger, the paper’s first author, said: “This is the first time we’ve seen that calcium influences the way alpha-synuclein interacts with synaptic vesicles. We think that alpha-synuclein is almost like a calcium sensor. In the presence of calcium, it changes its structure and how it interacts with its environment, which is likely very important for its normal function.”

Jewish people with Crohn’s disease more likely to carry LRRK2 gene mutation

A scientific study has concluded that there may be a link between Parkinson’s and Crohn’s disease within the Ashkenazi Jewish community. The study’s findings, which were published in the journal ‘Science Translational Medicine’, has found that members of the population with Crohn’s disease are more likely to carry the LRRK2 mutation which is a significant cause of Parkinson’s. Lead researcher Dr Inga Peter, professor of genetics and genomic sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine, New York, US, said: “Crohn’s disease is a complex disorder with multiple genes and environmental factors involved, which disproportionately affects individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. “The presence of shared LRRK2 mutations in patients with Crohn’s disease and Parkinson’s disease provides refined insight into disease mechanisms and may have major implications for the treatment of these two seemingly unrelated diseases.”

Could caffeine in the blood help diagnose Parkinson’s?

Blood caffeine levels could be promising diagnostic biomarkers for early-stage Parkinson’s, Japanese researchers reported in the journal ‘Neurology’ earlier this month. The study found that people with Parkinson’s had lower levels of caffeine and caffeine metabolites in their blood than people without the disease, at the same consumption rate. Caffeine concentrations also were decreased in Parkinson’s patients with motor fluctuations than in those without Parkinson’s. However, patients in more severe disease stages did not have lower caffeine levels. The study’s authors, Dr David Munoz, University of Toronto, and Dr Shinsuke Fujioka, Fukuoka University, suggested that the “decrease in caffeine metabolites occurs from the earliest stages of Parkinson’s.” They added: “If a future study were to demonstrate similar decreases in caffeine in untreated patients with Parkinson’s […] the implications of the current study would take enormous importance.”